Storystorm 2019 Day 24: Pam Calvert’s Post of Storystorm Past

So, today you’re supposed to be eating lots of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, dressing, pies (emphasis on the plural here)…AND talking (not fighting) with your relatives. Enjoying your day! But still…it IS Picture Book Idea Month and so you’re also supposed to be thinking of a blockbuster picture book idea today as well. But I’m not thinking about today. No. I’m thinking about tomorrow.

BLACK FRIDAY!

Mwahahahaaaa!

And in honor of Black Friday, I’m going to veer off from the normal “how I get my ideas” blog post to a more material slant—something all picture book writers should have sitting with them when they’re about to brainstorm. Something you should ask for Christmas so you can weave all those good ideas into editor-loving stories. It’s something I bought myself (SPLURGED on) several years ago and it helped me brainstorm two of my upcoming picture books.

It’s called the Magna Storyboard Pad (pictured). Notice it has three areas where you can draw and lines for writing. “But WAIT!” you say. “I’M NOT AN ILLUSTRATOR!”

Well, I’m not either, but if you’re going to be a picture book author, you better be visualizing your story even before you start writing. This pad forces you to think in pictures. A lot of times, it’s easy for me to get swept away by my words when I should be visualizing my story first. And since I bought this pad, thinking in pictures has never been easier. And another secret?

No one has to see your pictures!

But I’ll show you some of mine so you’ll feel better about your artistic talent (because it’s gotta be better).

When I started on the sequel to my math adventure, MULTIPLYING MENACE, my editor told me I needed to meld one of my contracted stories with an earlier version of the sequel, MULTIPLYING MENACE DIVIDES. The contracted story was entitled, THE FROG PRINCE IN FRACTIONLAND. That meant I had to apply frogs throughout my original (that didn’t even have a frog in the background.) And I had to apply fractions throughout. This required pictures. Oh yeah, and I needed another villain. Panicking, I grabbed my math books, desperately searching for an idea. But then I remembered the storyboard pads. I hadn’t used them (even though it was at the top of my things to do list). I started with the new villain…

Her name was Diva Divine in a feeble attempt to use a play on words with division. Of course, through revision her name ended up being Matilda, but this is what she ended up looking like in the book:

There’s quite a bit of resemblance and I never had a talk with the illustrator, Wayne Geehan, about the witch. He suspected what she’d be like from her actions. But without my visualization on paper, her character may not have come out so well.

Now, the witch was the easy part. So much fun. I had her reading In Stye magazine and wearing Jimmy Ooze shoes (um…that never made it in the book…ha!).

The next part was thinking in fractions. So, I plotted out every element. Here’s one page example when I had to show how the division magic worked with dividing twelve kittens. I brainstormed some ways I could show this on the storyboard paper:

Not only did I brainstorm dividing the kittens into frogs, but I had to divide things by fractions, which makes a larger number. In the storyboard picture I used frogs, but they ended up being pigs. Here’s the finished page of the kittens.

After I completed this story, I was hooked! I would never again brainstorm without my storypad.

Here’s another example using my newest PRINCESS PEEPERS book entitled, PRINCESS PEEPERS PICKS A PET. These are the initial thoughts. Notice, I’m terrible at illustrating, but the ideas flow much more freely when I use it, and I can tell if my story would lend itself well to illustration. You need at least sixteen different scene changes for a picture book.

Here is Peepers trying to find a pet for the pet show:

She’s frustrated because she can’t find anything (that’s a frog on her head!) In the finished book, she does find the frog and it looks like this:

Before I leave you with your Black Friday find, I’ll show you my newest picture book idea brainstorm.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Pam Calvert is the author of seven picture books. Her most recent title is BRIANNA BRIGHT, BALLERINA KNIGHT illustrated by Liana Hee (Two Lions), about a spunky princess who’s trying to find her talent. Pam is well-known for her award-winning PRINCESS PEEPERS books as well as her math adventure series and is happy to announce that her newest title, FLASH: THE LITTLE FIRE ENGINE, is forthcoming in November 2019! She offers a free picture book workshop, Picture Book University, on her blog as well as a highly praised critique service. You can find Pam on Twitter @pammcalvert.

At the conclusion of Storystorm, prize packs will be given away (books, swag, writing tools). Comment once on this blog post to enter into the prize pack drawing.

You’re eligible to win if you’re a registered Storystorm participant and you have commented once below.

Storypads certainly make a difference! Love your illustrations! Especially the one with a frog on Peepers head! Thank you Pam, for sharing, and congratulations on your forthcoming book. Look forward to reading it and participating in your picture book workshop.

While I try to get my scenes sorted in my head while writing, I’ve never tried to actually draw them …but if nobody gets to see those sketches except me, maybe I’ll give it a go! It might prove useful with a couple of stories I’m workington right now that don’t feel as if they are really working as yet. Thanks for the tip!

Thank you, Pam, for this fun reminder to think in words *and* pictures. To use pictures even when drawing is far from our forte. Thanks for the link to your Picture Book University. I took a peek and plan to read through it all in February, i.e. after STORYSTORM! –Kim

Wow! Thanks Tara for bringing Pam Calvert’s post back around to us. Had a brainstorm this morning that I’m going to try doodling along with the writing. Pam is a writer’s wealth of picture book lessons. A heartfelt teacher!

I love that you encourage those who can’t draw to still visualize their storys. One can also clip images, doodle, take photos to help create visuals too. I am an illustrator and I always visualize my story long before my words come to life. Thank you for your post.

Your idea grabbed me right at the Thanksgiving food! YUM! The Storyboard Pad sounds like a Ninja Juicer for creativity. Thanks, Pam. What a spot-on reminder to play with pictures as much as we play with words–a married pair like peanut butter and jelly. Thanks also for your offering of a Picture Book Workshop.After Storystorm and 12 x 12 dabbling, I’m checking out your workshop. Best of blessings for your continued creative success! Now, about shoe shopping…

I like your picture and text idea and will try it, even though I’m not an illustrator and my drawings look like ick. When writing, I do try to visualize my story as if it was a film. Thanks, Pam, for an interesting post.

Last year I created a dummy for a story that was causing me problems, and really it helped. Thank you, Pam, for a great post and a reminder to keep sketching! My goal is make dummies for all my stories this year.

I use one of these storyboards with my first grade class. It helps them get their ideas down, especially those that are not strong writers. They can draw a picture and give details there that allows me to help them improve their writing.

Someone asked a storyboard question in another group I’m a part of…and then I saw this! Makes me think it’s time for a storyboard pad because I, too, tend to think in words. Your sketches are not as bad you think they are. lol. 🙂

Hi Pam. Love this clever idea… much less paper waste than the folded 8 sheet book dummy. This would be great for those first story ideas which can be transferred to a book dummy after the initial rough drafts have been sanded smooth.

This was a great post. Thanks for encouraging us to get outside of our usual comfort zones. P.S. I think you should give yourself more credit for your art…your sketches look similar in style to those made by PB illustrators before they do final art ; )

Magna Pad is a great idea and quick way to get your thought down as illustration. I eventually have to do similar in order to map out my story and know whether there are enough possible scenes for 32 pages. Thank you.

Thank you, Tara and Pam, for the helpful post. Mapping out a story as you’ve described is something I’m just starting to do. I’ve been making dummies after my story is written, but sure do see the value in story mapping from the beginning. 👍😃
Thanks!

This is great! I had never heard of Storyboard pads before. I typically doodle right along the page, and it gets messy fast. I feel like I’ve been using square wheels all this time. I will definitely add them to my wishlist. Thank you for sharing how you use them in the brainstorming process, Pam. Very helpful.

This is great advice for writers to “visualize” what an illustrator has to do once he/she gets a manuscript. I’m sure it makes their efforts much more effective when we’ve walked in THEIR shoes for a bit of time

Thank you, Pam, for the great idea of using Storyboard pads. I’ll have to look for them and get some. I think your drawings and diagrams are terrific even though you aren’t an artist. Maybe you should try illustrating too. That’s for a great post.

Wow! Those pads sound really cool. They may be worth a splurge to try them. As an illustrator I always am thinking visually, but I really like the ease of having the text lines next to the picture box.

PAM: I am SO IN LOVE with the Story Pad! THANK YOU for the heads-up! And by sharing your own examples of use, I can TOTALLY see how they help ideas flow much more freely, and can tell if a story would lend itself well to illustration. SO IMPORTANT!!! I CAN’T WAIT to start using this WONDERFUL tool! THANK YOU!!!

Pam, this is a great resource! It is so easy to have thinking and talking carry a story, when action that can be illustrated is required for a picture book! I am looking forward to trying it out! Thank you so much for your post, and for the wonderful gifts you are contributing to StoryStorm!

I love this as a brainstorming tool, Pam 🙂 Granted, I’m an illustrator and naturally think in pictures, but just as this shows, when you visualize images ON “PAPER” it can help your entire creative process 😀

I’m not a real illustrator either. I can draw, but not with the creativity that professionals who illustrate children’s books do. Those little pads look wonderful. Definitely going to give them a try. I think it does help to lay out your story in dummy fashion. That was one of the things we did in the picture book class I took at the Australian Writers Insititute online.

I realized I need to carry a paper note book to draw my ideas for books because I use my phone to record my ideas. But I have a visual idea, and it would really help me to have paper notebook. I have the small tiny moleskin, but I cannot draw on it;. So I got me a medium size one and I am so excited to draft my ideas for children’s books. SO EXCITED! I COULD JUST SPIT!

I love your concept! Thanks for the tips, Pam. P.s. How did you feel when some of your play on words didn’t make the book? I like playing on words but you did get published in the end so that’s awesome. I’ll be checking out your books and your university 😉

Great post, thank you for the helpful advice! I just listened to a webinar where an agent mentioned how helpful it is to sketch your own “illustrations” in order to keep the picture of the story in mind.

Thank you for your post Pam. I appreciate the reminder to use a storyboard as I write my picture books. I have gotten out of that habit and I need to start doing that again!
Congratulations on your upcoming books.

The pad looks cool. I find dummies so helpful, even as a non-illustrator, but usually don’t mess with them until my stories are pretty far along. It’ll be fun to try to visualize and even think about page turns earlier on in the process and see where things go. Thanks.

I’ve so often wished I could draw for my PB manuscripts. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve said, “I can see the pictures for this but I can’t draw them.” This idea is a good start – especially as I am the only one who would see them.

Thanks for sharing your process! I love the idea of the pad. Usually, I “layout” everything in my head. This would be a big change for me, but I see the benefits of being able to go back and look at it much, much later.

Thank you for sharing how you’ve used the Magna Storyboard Pad as a tool to visualize a story–before you even start writing. I like the idea of forcing myself to think in pictures instead of relying on the images in my head! Great post, Pam. Congrats on Flash–I’m looking forward to reading it.

I love the idea of sketching out ideas. I’m not an illustrator, but I recently started using a big sketchbook when I’m brainstorming and figuring out a story and it really helped me. Just having big paper and the freedom to fill it with story was helpful.

I’ve only recently started dummying. I too am not an illustrator, but it’s been very helpful for pacing and page turns. But I hadn’t really thought about doing character studies – cool idea. I’ll have to check out those papers. Thanks.

I love the idea of using this special pad of paper. I love sketching out pics of my main characters to help me write them better. There was so much great info here, I need to reread this post again. Many thanks!

Brilliant reminders. I love these pads, and also found others online for those who prefer bigger drawing spaces with words beneath, and even loads of varied ones that can be bought or printed from online. Also will be looking into Pam’s FREE mini-workshop – actually a series of classes – and shared with my critique group.

So much shared – received – warms my heart about this community. None of this existed when I first began trying to make picture books, and isolation can be a tough thing to keeping motivated or learning craft well. Thank you for this share. I am an illustrator as well, but will be using storyboard paper [or even drawing my own boxes. I’ve done this in the past, but sometimes forget – jump in too quickly to the individual spreads on my computer. Often jumping in wastes a lot of time in the long run. Getting a layout in front of me, with those 14-16 spreads, I can see better where to move things, cut and edit, before drawing in so many details and then losing those spreads.

Right in this moment, I’ve been using a huge pad to just brainstorm a lot of characters, outfits, ideas on a single theme, which is great, But realized having a layout in front of me could turn these ideas more quickly into a full book.

Hi Pam, I remember this blog from PBIDMO – I asked for the pads for Christmas as you suggested and have been using them ever since. Great for brainstorming and also great for PB dummy and revisions. Thanks for turning me on to these.

I am an author/illustrator so I do tend to think visually, but this is an important post for those who don’t. Thinking about page turns, arcs, and protagonist characteristics will make for a stronger story.

Interesting concept and great template –thanks. Most writers find it counterintuitive to draw and then add text, unless the illustration consists of a photo to stimulate memory, but I’ll give it a try.

I illustrate as well as you, what a relief. This is a perfect tool to combine writing and sketches for picture books. I cannot wait to read Brianna Bright and Flash: The Little Red Fire Engine in November.

I never thought to try illustrating my picture book drafts to help flesh out the ideas. I am not an artist, but I can see from Pam’s illustrations you don’t need to be – it’s the ideas that counts. Great suggestion.

Tara, thanks for sharing Pam’s post again. I wasn’t around for the first time, and it has a wealth of useful tools. I’ve developed storyboards for kids to use for their creative process, and can use a variation for my own work. Pam’s Picture Book University is a goldmine!

Thank you Pam for the resource suggestion! I love to use storyboard templates with my students too! It certainly leads to better products in the end and many enjoy the collaborative process with a classmate.

I love this. I illustrate but don’t always draw pictures. I should look into getting one of these (or making something similar for myself). Also want to say many of my illustrations start out looking like this. I don’t know if Pam is looking at this, but I think she may be an illustrator in disguise!

I have to admit panic seized my heart reading this: “if you’re going to be a picture book author, you better be visualizing your story even before you start writing.” But I’m going to try to visualize first rather than rely on the words. Thank you for the storyboard pad idea!

Thanks so much for sharing. I don’t enjoy illustrating either but see now how crucial it can be to just try sketching to let the story out. With one of my characters I had no illustrations when my friend was saying she could see my character she described her exactly as I remembered her!

This is great! And if the pad of paper is not something you want to purchase yet, you can easily hack the idea using post-its on lined paper or creating your own version in PowerPoint and printing them off! Love this!!! And your doodles are great!

Great post, Pam!! Thank you for giving us a peek at your writing process and how you storyboard with the Magna Storyboard Pad. I am not an artist but am an avid doodler and can see where the pad would help… so I’m placing an order.